Edward stroud



(No Model.)

E. STROD.

PIANO ACTION FRAME.

No. 363,488. Patented May 24.1887;

0 w W W m M m m H P M UNITED STATES PATENT OFFicEo EDWARD sTRoUD, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

PIANO-ACTION FRAME.

SPECIFICA'I'ION forming part of Letters Patent No. 363,488. dated May 24, 1887.

Application filed April 18, 1887. Serial No. 234,658.

T all whom, it' may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD STROUD, of the city and county of New York, in the State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvemcnt in Panos, of which the following is aspecification. i

My invention is appli'cable to upright pianofortes, and its object is to furnish a suitable .support for the action-brackets, which will remainder ofthe case, and to have such front portion of the case and the entire key-bottom and key-frame readily removable with the front of the case without disturbing the action is a great desideratnm.

In carrying out my invention I provide, iu

' connection with the action-brackets of an upright piano, a horizontal cylindric girt, which extends from side to side of the piano, and on which the. brackets rest and may be swung forward as on a pivot. This cylindric .girt may also serve as a rest for the back ends of the key-levers. I also provide the key bottom or plank with bearers or brackets at its rear edge, which are preferably of segmental form, so as to partly embrace the front of the cylindric girt and'give' the key bottom or plank such Vertical support thereon as will prevent its springing or warping between its ends, and at the same time providing for the removal of the key-bottom with the keys for- Ward -without disturbing the girt or the action in any way. The end action-brackets have each a forwardly -projecting arm, and from this arm a brace or leg extends to the girt and prevents the bracket from turning on the girt, and this brace or leg is usually adjustable in length so that by its adjustment the bracket may be swung slightly inward or outward at its upper end.` The brace orleg pref- (No mcdeLl' erably is not secured inthe girt, but springs from a collar-section, which comprises a halfcircular portion, the internal diameter of which corresponds with the diameter of eX- terior of the girt, and such collar-section is provided with a set-screw for securing it ou the gi'rt, as will be more fully hereiuafter described.

In the accompau'ying drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of such parts of apiano as are necessary to illustrate my invention, the plane ofsection being transverse to the horizontal girt and from front to back of the instrument. Fig. 2 is a front view of the partsshown in Fig. l, and showing two of the action-brackets, four being the usual number employed. Fig. 3 is a transverse section through the girt, representing the collar -section as fitting thereon and supporting the brace or leg of 'the actionbracket; and Fig'. 4 is a plan of the parts shown in Fig. 3.

Similar letters of reference designate corre- B designates ahorizontal girt,which extends from side to side of the piano, and in Fig. 2 one end wall to which the girt is secured is represented by the line O. This horizontal girt is of cylindric form, and, to secure the necessary strength and stiffness with a light weight, it preferably consists of a tube or pipe. This tube or pipe may have fianges B' secured upon its euds, and these flanges may be secured by screws b to the sides O of the case or frame. Each bracket A A' has secured to it rails D D/,and has a segmental bearing, b', upon the girt B, and at its top is secured by a screw, bz, or otherwise. It will therefore be understood that when desired the brackets A A', with the action, may be swung forward upon the girt B as on a pivot. For additionally supporting the brackets from the girt, I' construct the two end brackets A each with a forwardly-extending arm, ba, which is sup- IOO ported by a brace or leg, D2. As here represented, and as best shown in Fig. 3, the brace or leg D2 does not spring directly from the girt B, but from the section of a collar, E, a portion of which is a semieircle of an internal diameter corrcsponding` with the external diameter of the girt B. This collar is provided with a set-screw, e, and consequently when this set-screw is set up and a diametricallyopposite portion of the collar-section is brought to a bearing upon the girt, as shown in Fig. 3, the collar-section is prevented from lateral displacement or disengagement with the girt, yet whenever the set-screw c is released the collarsection can be laterally removed from and replaced on the girt B. The brace or leg, as here reprcsented, has at the end a fork, d, and has a section, d', which is screwed into this fork and into the collar-section E, and by turning the section d' the brace may be lengthened or shortened to any extent desired. In the fork d of the brace is a cross-pin, (22, on which rests a V-shaped or concaved end of the projection U* of the bracket A.

F designates the key bottom or plank on which is supported the key-frame F', and on this key-frame are fulcrumed at f the keylevers F2. As here represented, the rear ends of the key-levers F2 are rabbeted at f' and rest upon the horizontal girt B, a cushion, f, of felt or other soft material, being interposed.

Thckey bottom or plank F has secured upon it bracketsf, which have segmental bearing portions f* resting against the front of the girt B. These segmental bearing portionsf'* embrace enough of the circnmference of the girt B to steady and support the key-bottom against vertically moving by warping or springing, and at the same time they permit the key-bottom to be readily removed from the frout of the instrument without manipulating any devices to disengage it from the girt B. As best represented in Fig. 4, the collar-section E has a lateral projection, e', in which the brace or leg D'z is inserted, and which serves to bring such brace or leg directly beneath the projection b3 on the bracket A.

If it be desired to remove the front of the case in order to pass the piano-through contracted passages or spaces, the key-bottom, to-

getherwith the k ey-frame and key-levcrs, may be entirely rcmoved from the front of the instrument; and my construction also provides for swinging the action forward upon the horizontal girt B as on a pivot when access is dc` sired to it for any purpose. As here represented, the key-lcvers F'Z act through suitable stickers or rods, h, upon the levers h', and through them serve to actuate the corresponding parts of the action.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, with the action-brackets of an upright piano, of a horizontal cylindrie girt extending from side to side of the piano, and on which the brackets rest and may be swung forward as on a pivot, substantially as hercin described.

2. The combination, with the action-brackets and key-levers of any upright piano, of a horizontal cylindric girt extending from side to side of the piano, on which the brackets are supported, and which serves as a rest for the back ends of the key-levers, substantially as hcrein described.

3. The combination, with the action-braci:- cts of an upright piano and the key bottom or plank, of a horizontal cylindric girt on which the brackets are supported, and bcarers or brackets on thekey-bottom fitting against but otherwise having no connection with said girt, substantially as hercin described.

4. The combination, with the end bracket, A, having a forwardly-projecting arm, of the g-irt B and a brace or leg, D, for supporting the bracket through its arm and preventing the bracket from turning on the girt, and which is adjustable in length, substantially as herein described. g

5. The combination, With the end brackct, A, having a forwardly-projecting arm, 7), of the girt B, the collar-section E, provided with a set-scrcw for securing it on. the girt, and the adj ustable brace or leg extcnding from the collar-scction and supporting the bracket through its said arm, snbstantially as herein dcscribcd.

EDW'ARD STROUD.

Vitnesses:

FREDK. HAYNEs, HENRY J. Monrnn. 

